


Written in My Hand

by BurntKloverfield



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, GingerRose is the secondary romance, Leia and Han are back together and it's therapeutic, Movie: Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Rey and Ben run away from everything, Reylo is the main romance, Soulmates, Soulmates mark, The force awakens divergent, they have each other’s names on their arms
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:31:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22842523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BurntKloverfield/pseuds/BurntKloverfield
Summary: Diverging at The Force Awakens, Ben and Rey are soulmates. They know they are because they have the other’s name written on their arms in their handwriting. Knowing that they are soulmates from the very beginning changes everything.
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Rose Tico, Kylo Ren/Rey, Leia Organa/Han Solo, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 81
Kudos: 140





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I’m finally getting over that cold I had for a couple weeks! (Still coughing my lungs out, but I a have a brain now) and my writing is back! Except it manifested in a completely new fic idea nowhere near anything else I’ve been writing :/ I’m going to try to finish my other projects but when the muse has stuff to write, it’s got to get written. This fic has no plan.

Writing isn’t really something that happens a lot in the Galaxy Far Far Away. With tech being so prevalent, there are few times where someone would ever have to write. This has led to soulmate marks becoming increasingly rare. Soulmate marks were simple: the soulmate’s name written in the soulmate’s handwriting. 

Ben Solo had a single three letter name on his wrist, Rey, scrawled in plain aurabesh, as if it had been copied from a sign. 

Across the Galaxy, Rey had Ben Solo looping around her arm in a curling ink script.

They forgot about their marks. People didn’t have them anymore, at least, not that they saw. Ben’s was easy to hide beneath sleeves and gloves, three little letters on his wrist. Rey’s was more difficult as it curled around her arm, but her armbands that protected her from the sun also protected her from onlookers. 

She had chosen her name from a helmet from a long finished battle. But she wondered if she should have two names like her soulmate did. 

Ben Solo changed his name when he joined the Knights of Ren. 

* * *

The first time Rey heard her soulmate’s name spoken by someone else, Han Solo was sharing what had happened to Luke Skywalker. The moment the syllables fell from his mouth, Rey unwrapped her arm, showing off the looping script of Ben Solo. 

Han Solo’s eyes went wide, taking her arm to examine it. “That’s my son. That’s my son’s handwriting.” His eyes seemed glued to her face. “You’re Rey. You’re his Rey.”

She hadn’t told Han her name, but he knew, and now she knew that Ben Solo was out there, now, and he was real, and she had a soulmate. “Where is he?” She begged.

Han Solo swallowed. “He calls himself Kylo Ren, now.”

“AW HELL NO!” Finn groaned. 

Rey was silent.

Han set a hand on her shoulder. “I can’t promise he’ll change, but you could bring him hope.” He looked past to Finn. “We’ll get that droid to the Resistance.”

* * *

When the First Order descended on Takodana, Rey stopped her flight and turned back to stare out at the waves of stormtroopers, searching for the dark shape of her soulmate. The moment he had touched down on the planet, she had felt it, she had felt him through the Force. When she finally saw him, walking through a doorway, she felt the breath halt in her chest. His mask turned towards her, and she stepped backwards. 

He followed the pull in the Force, and Rey swallowed, trying to keep her feet on the ground instead of fleeing. He came to face her, and she was already unwrapping her arm, like she had for his father. 

“I’m looking for Ben Solo,” she said, pulling the fabric out of the way and holding up her arm for him to see his signature around her arm. 

The words froze the man in his steps. 

“My name is Rey!” She continued, begging him to do something, anything. 

“So you’re my soulmate,” he breathed, the statement sounding strange as it tumbled through his vocoder. 

“And you’re mine,” she returned. 

He stepped forward. “Don’t be afraid. I feel it, too.” He approached her slowly as if she would bolt. 

“What are you doing here?” She asked, eyeing his stature. 

“Looking for a droid.”

“And have you found it?”

“My men will.” They stood face to face now, or rather, face to mask. “Will you come with me?”

“Where are you going?”

“Back to my ship.”

“And after?”

“Does that matter?”

Rey studied his mask. “Will you come with me first?”

“Where?”

“I need to make sure my friends are alright.” She pointed past him to the fighting. “Will you stop it?”

He nodded and marched back out of the tree line. He opened his comm and ordered a ceasefire. The calm fell quickly. 

He looked down at Rey at his side. “Go assure your friends are alright.”

“Come with me?”

He nodded and followed her down through the confused troopers, stopping when they came around the rubble of a large wall. Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Finn pointed their weapons at the troopers who were still assuring them that they had been called to stand down. 

“These are your friends?”

“Rey!” Finn shouted, firing his blaster.

The blast froze midair. 

“I’m afraid I won’t be able to come with you, Rey,” he stated as coolly as he could. 

“No, no, I’ll come with you. I just needed to let them know that I’m alright.” She smiled at Han. “I’m with Ben. I’ll be alright.”

“I know you will be.” He looked to his son. “Treat her well, Ben.”

“Leave this place,” Ben said before turning away and stepping to the side. 

The blaster fire continued on its trajectory, exploding against a stone wall. 

He marched back towards his ship, not looking back. Rey waved and dashed to follow Ben.

“You can’t let her go with that monster!” Finn argued.

Han shook his head. “She’ll be alright. He won’t hurt her. He’s been looking for her from the moment he could read her name.”

* * *

The journey in the transport was eerily silent. Rey had been seated at the end of a bench in room just off the cockpit, and Kylo Ren stood at her side.

They boarded a much larger ship, and Ben set a hand on her lower back to guide her through the hangar and through the halls. 

“That’s not the droid, Ren!” A snide voice shouted. 

“This is none of your concern.”

“Supreme Leader Snoke won’t be happy about this.”

Kylo Ren disregarded him, guiding Rey through hallways into dark nondescript quarters. 

He slowly lifted his hands to his helmet and lifted it from his head. He set it on a desk and turned to properly look at Rey. 

She was enchanted by his face and his eyes and his hair, but she broke the silence with a small question. “Can I see your mark?”

“It’s yours,” he returned, removing his gloves and pushing up his sleeve. “It’s your name in your handwriting.” He offered his arm to her so she could see her name written carefully over his wrist. 

Rey carefully took his hand and wrist in her hands, and she traced the letters with her fingertip. 

“Do you know who I am?” 

“Ben Solo, my soulmate.” She looked up at his face, watching the worry storm beneath his emotive face. 

“I haven’t been Ben Solo for a long time.”

“That’s the name on my arm. Kylo Ren is not my soulmate. Ben Solo is.”

He said nothing, but he did not pull away from her.

“Are you Ben Solo?” She whispered.

“Who do you want Ben Solo to be?” The question his eyes asked was “who do you want me to be?” and in her soul, she knew he would strive to be everything for her and anything she asked. 

“The man who looked for me.”

His eyes dropped to her arm. “Did Han Solo tell you that?”

She nodded. “He still loves you.”

“How would you know?”

“He wants you back.”

“He wants the monster dead.”

“I don’t see a monster.”

He looked up to her eyes. “What am I to you?”

“Anything but a monster.” She offered her arm with his name. “No monster could create something so beautiful. No monster would call off his army because he was asked. No monster would spare my friends.” 

A comm link beeped. “Kylo Ren,” the snide man addressed. “Supreme Leader Snoke is commanding our presence.”

“Let me come with you,” Rey whispered.

His eyes hardened, but he nodded. 


	2. Chapter 2

Rey was disappointed that her soulmate had put his helmet back on, but she wondered at it. It was unique. It was intimidating. Why would he wear it? No other officials wore helmets. Only the stormtroopers wore helmets. Was he a trooper? His helmet was no trooper helmet.

He walked side by side with her through the ship to a large dimly lit room. The red-headed man who had yelled at Kylo Ren about Rey not being the droid they were looking for was already there, standing at attention before a massive holo of a humanoid either scarred or hideously malformed. 

“What is the meaning of this?” The creature demanded, his low growl thundering through the room and rumbling deep through Rey’s stomach. “Who is this girl?”

“She took priority, Supreme Leader,” Ben spoke through his mask. He gently took her hand to lift her bare arm, showcasing his mark on her forearm. “My soulmate, Rey.”

"Your soulmate," the Supreme Leader echoed. He shifted in his throne and peered down at them. "Come closer, child," he commanded.

Rey looked back to her soulmate who reluctantly released her hand and nodded for her to obey. She looked back to the holo and walked forward. 

"Show me the mark."

She offered her arm, twisting it slowly so he could clearly read the curling calligraphy. 

Slowly, chuckles tumbled from the monster. "Dear child, this is not your soulmate. There is no Ben Solo here, is there, Kylo Ren?"

Rey turned to look back. 

His face was hidden behind his mask, and his body gave nothing away. "I bear her name." He slowly removed his glove and pushed up his sleeve to show her name. 

She turned back to the holo. "Whether or not he is Ben Solo, my name is on his arm. He bears my mark."

"He wears your mark, but do you wear his?"

Rey looked back. His mask was trained on her face, and he still held his sleeve up, showing the three little letters in Rey's penmanship.

"Now, now, now," Snoke shushed, "we have quite the conundrum. Are you my apprentice, Kylo Ren, or are you that weak child, Ben Solo? Have I been harboring an impostor?"

General Hux let out a soft laugh, and he was immediately thrown across the room. 

"Don't think that I will allow you such frivolities," Snoke sneered. "I know about the name on your arm, General Hux. If you ever come across that Rose Tico, I will ensure that your belief in these ridiculous fairy tales will cost you. Your allegiance is to me." He sneered at the other pair. "I need your answer. Are you Ben Solo, or are you Kylo Ren? Are you the heir apparent to Darth Vader and all his power? Or are you the child of that smuggler Han Solo?"

He slowly pulled his sleeve down and his glove on. "Regardless of what I call myself, her name is still on my arm. She is my soulmate."

"You have too much of your father's heart in you, Ben Solo," Snoke sneered. He made a motion with his fingers, and Rey rose into the air. "What makes you so special, girl?" he sneered. Needles seemed to press into her mind. She turned her head away, trying to shake the sickening invasion. "What makes my apprentice choose you?" Snoke's presence was dark and angry and malicious, tearing through her mind and her memories and her emotions like a wild herd of beasts. 

"Get out of my head!" she growled. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and as she thrashed her head, she caught sight of Ben, frozen in mid-step towards her. She pushed against the intrusion, trying to tear his infesting tendrils from her mind. 

She was dropped and crumpled to the ground. 

Snoke's laugh echoed through the room. "Who would have known! The little scavenger has the same power as you, my apprentice." His hold on Ben released, and he was immediately at Rey's side as she pushed herself up from the ground. "I will leave her alive, for now. Train her, Kylo Ren. But remember that this is my kindness, not your right."

The holo disappeared, leaving them in darkness with General Hux breathing heavily, standing forgotten at the edge of the room. 

Rey looked up at the mask, trembling. "What did he mean, I have the same power as you?"

"Come with me," he whispered. 

She nodded and followed him back through the ship, through semi-familiar hallways. She knew the layout of star destroyers from scavenging them her entire life, but she had never seen one functional and filled with sentients. She still felt shaken, but now, she wasn't sure if she trusted her soulmate, she wasn't sure if she would survive the world he lived in. 

They emerged into the hangar, and he barked at a pair of troopers to prepare his ship. 

In a moment, a ship was raised up from a platform in the floor, and Ben gestured for her to follow. He offered his hand to help her aboard into the seat directly behind the pilot’s. She frowned and climbed inside without taking his hand. He closed his hand into a tight fist and climbed into the cockpit.

Once they were out of the hangar, he was pulling off his helmet. He glanced over his shoulder and back out the viewport. “He’ll never harm you again.” He took in a shaky breath. “And my name is Ben Solo.”

The pieces clicked into place. 

“You’re leaving.” Rey whispered.

“I should have never brought you here. I put you in danger by bringing you to Snoke.”

“Where are you going?”

“Do you have a home?”

“Jakku...” The moment the word came out of her mouth, she wondered if she really did want to go back. 

“Jakku? You come from Jakku?” His heart seized. Had she been in the village? He stared out at the stars. “Where on Jakku?” 

“Outside of Niima Outpost.”

“That’s not far from the village Tuanul.”

“Were you on Jakku?”

“I had a mission on Jakku, looking for a piece of a map, looking for a droid.” He sighed. “You know where the droid is.”

“Does it matter? Now that you’re leaving the First Order and Snoke and Kylo Ren, does that map matter?”

Ben was silent for a long while, and Rey leaned back in her seat, watching the stars. 

"We hardly know each other," Ben said softly. "What are we doing?" There was a pain in his voice that Rey hadn't heard before, but it cut to her soul. She had been alone her entire life, and now she had someone who was meant to be her soulmate, who was never supposed to leave her, who was supposed to know her. "I'm sorry, Rey, but I'm not taking you back to Jakku."

"Then where are you taking me?"

"Somewhere safe." He wanted to turn around to look at her, but he kept his eyes forward. "Rey, there is so much you don't know about me."

"I know enough," she insisted. "You're my soulmate. We are a pair, and I know that we belong together, whatever that entails."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Please. You're leaving everything, for me."

"Would you do the same?"

"I don't have anything to leave."

Ben's heart hurt at that. What did she mean, she didn't have anything to leave? What sort of life had she led? Knowing that she had lived on Jakku, he knew her life had been rough, but didn't she have people who loved her? His heart was already crying out for her and had been from the moment he knew they were connected. "You have me," he whispered. 


	3. Chapter 3

"We shouldn't have let her go with him!" Finn groaned to Han.

"Believe me, she'll be fine," Han waved him off, looking up at the sky where Resistance ships were entering atmosphere.

A few fighters zoomed past them, whipping up a wind, chasing after the straggling First Order ships.

A transport landed amid the trees, and Han watched as the ramp lowered. Several Resistance Fighters flooded out as Leia followed, staring back at Han.

"You changed your hair," he greeted. What he meant was that she was still beautiful, that he still loved her, that he was happy to see her. He hoped it came across.

"Same jacket," she returned with a smile.

"Hey, new jacket." He looked down at it and held out his hands.

She stepped forward and put her arms around his middle, and he held her, happy that she would still hug him after all these years.

"I saw him, Leia. I saw our son."

Her hug tightened, and she buried her face in his shoulder.

"And his soulmate. I met Rey."

She finally pushed back and looked up at his face.

He smiled. "She'd found the Falcon. Piloted it all on her own. She went with Ben the moment she saw him.”

She studied Han’s eyes. “How was he?”

Han’s eyes turned sad, and he looked away. As the thoughts ran through his mind, he gave a small nod. “He stopped the assault because Rey asked him to.”

“Did he really?” Leia whispered.

“BB-8!” Finn shouted at the little droid rolling back towards them from the forest.

“Looks like we’ve got the rest of that map to Luke,” Han nodded to the droid. 

Leia nodded and pushed back to hug Han tight again before letting him go and nodding back towards the transport. “We could use you, if you’re willing.”

“What about you?” 

“What about me?”

"Do you...?" He waved his hand towards her, trying to find the words for what he was trying to say.

Her shoulders softened, and she nodded. "I missed you."

"Me too."

* * *

Armitage Hux sat in his office, forehead in his palm, staring down at the simple signature on his arm laid out across his desk. His jacket was thrown across his chair, and his sleeve was shoved up to the elbow to show two words, Rose Tico, written in a plain hand, almost as if it had been scrawled by a finger into a dusty surface. He had been careful to keep the mark hidden. Not everyone had marks. His parents didn't. He had grown up with the brunt of his father's scorn for it. He had tried and tried and tried to live up to his father's shadow. He was General. He had thought that it would surely be his road to success, but something still felt as if it was missing.

Seeing Kylo Ren abandon the mission for the girl had knocked Hux's confidence loose. The search for the map had been Kylo Ren's mission, not the First Order's. He had his own mission.

His communicator beeped, and an assistant spoke. "General Hux, we're approaching StarKiller Base."

He sighed and went to push his sleeve down. He paused, looking at his soulmate's name again. This time, he brushed his finger over it, wondering if she ever did the same.

* * *

The journey in Ben’s ship was long and mainly silent. Ben found himself unsure of everything, especially what he should say to his soulmate. Rey found herself wondering where her life was heading. 

All over the course of a day, maybe two, she had left the only home she had ever known, flown through the Galaxy, seen more plants in her life than she knew existed, met her soulmate, spoke with the Supreme Leader of the First Order, and then promptly defied the Supreme Leader and followed her defecting soulmate out into the Galaxy. 

“What do you like to eat?” Ben asked, breaking the long silence.

“What do you mean?”

“To eat? What food do you like?” He glanced over his shoulder. “There’s not many rations in the cargo so we will have to stop for supplies. Preferably get a new ship without First Order tracking. But food. What do you eat?”

“I’ll eat anything,” she answered, remembering too many nights with an empty stomach. 

“You don’t have a preference?”

“Anything but portions.”

“Portions?” She felt his presence rub up against her mind, searching for what portions were. He did not enter, just observed her front most thoughts, the memory she was currently thinking about, the green gelatinous substance. When he really understood what portions were, a rush of sadness overflowed into her mind briefly before he pulled away. “Everything but portions.”

“That was the Force you used just now.”

“It was. You didn’t know you were sensitive to the Force?”

“No.”

“You pushed against Snoke when he entered your mind, didn’t you?”

“Yes I did. I didn’t know what I was doing.”

“It was enough for him to see that you’re Force Sensitive, that you can manipulate the Force. That is a dangerous ability, and you do need a teacher.”

"So you do plan on teaching me?"

"I do. Now that Snoke knows about you and your power, he's going to want you as a weapon."

"Like he had you for a weapon."

He didn't respond immediately, and when he did, it was letting her know that they would be landing within the hour.

Rey sighed and leaned back in her seat. "Where are we headed?"

"Hosnian Prime. But we can't stay for long. Just getting supplies and a ship and getting out of the system."

"And after that?"

"Where ever we want."

* * *

Hosnian Prime was a bustling planet, filled with all manner of sentient life. Rey's attention was constantly moving as they zigzagged their way through a marketplace not far from the spaceport. Ben, now bare faced and just in his dark tunic, had already bartered for a new ship, and they were in search of supplies. He saw the way her eyes went wide and lingered on the food and wares available. He wished they had more time. If she had spent her life on Jakku, she would have never seen so much life, so much bounty, so much prosperity.

He glanced up at the sky as they paid for fresh fruit and preserved meats and water. He was promptly distracted from the sky when Rey took the large jugs and easily hefted them to return to their ship. Pride blossomed in his chest.

When they had been looking at ships, he had asked her if she knew how to fly. She proudly nodded, and she told him how she'd piloted the Millennium Falcon all on her own. He'd raised an impressed eyebrow at that. Of course she had: she had been with his father.

Her skill, though, had also played into the ship he chose. A small simple transport, fast, protected, hidden weapons, but with a pilot and a copilot seat.

Once they were back on their new ship, heading out into the atmosphere, he visibly relaxed.

"Where to now?" he asked, looking over at her, piloting beside him. "I can take us where ever you want."

She shook her head. "I don't know. I've never left Jakku."

He looked forward again and slowly responded, "right." He looked forward. "Have you heard of a planet called Naboo?"

"No, I haven't."

"It's beautiful. I think you would like it there. It's as different from Jakku as you can get."

Rey thought back to Takodana and all the green. Suddenly, something felt very wrong in her chest.

"I feel it, too," he said, leaning forward. "Once we reach open space, prepare to go to lightspeed." He started flipping switches.

"What's going on?"

"The First Order is testing its newest superweapon on the Hosnian system."

"You knew?"

"I was privy, but I did not agree with the action."

"Did not agree? You knew! And you could have warned them!"

Ben flashed a glare at her. "How do you think that would have happened? I just waltz into the the capitol and declare a state of emergency?"

The planets in their view began to turn red.

"We need to go, now!" He was already pushing the ship into hyperdrive as the blasts reached the first of the planets in the Hosnian System.

The star streaks filled the viewport, and as the death of trillions flowed through the Force, Rey gripped the steering, crying as the sorrow hit her.

"There was nothing we could have done," Ben said softly, double checking the navigation set for Naboo. He unbuckled himself and left to the back room where they had put their supplies. He returned quickly, holding a fruit out to her.

She took the fruit and bit into it, refusing to look at him.

* * *

The Resistance successfully destroyed StarKiller Base with minimal losses on their own end, with the help of Finn and Han Solo and Chewbacca. They had escaped the exploding planetary weapon with moments to spare, having done all they could to search for Rey, at Finn's pleading, but they left empty handed.

Yet they were alive and unharmed, and they returned so to the Resistance Base on D'Qar.

Han and Leia found themselves together again, in a quiet corner of the command center.

"I don't think they were on StarKiller," Han told her, leaning against a wall.

"I don't think so either." Leia looked up at him. "I think it is time to bring Luke back."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was checking the order of events of TFA and realized that I've got everything jumbled up, but guess what, it's fine, it's fanfiction, everything is changing anyways.


	4. Chapter 4

"We'll be in hyperspeed for a while. If you want to rest, you can," Ben said, breaking their long silence.

Rey nodded and stood from the co-pilot's seat. She looked at Ben. "I..."

"I'm sorry I'm not who you wanted," he said, promptly turning his face to look out the viewport at the streaking stars.

Rey's eyes widened, and she promptly turned to go back to the bunks. It wasn't that she didn't want him. She wanted him so badly. She had already seen that he could be kind, thoughtful, soft, protective. Yet, he had allowed an entire star system to be destroyed in a moment. She had seen Hosnian Prime and its people for just a moment, and she had loved the beauty of it. She had never seen anything like it.

Her heart ached, and her soul ached, and everything in the Force ached.

Ben felt it. He felt her heart.

He ensured the navigation was correct, and he followed her. She was standing in the center of the bunk, crying.

"What would you have wanted me to do?" he asked softly. "I was not over StarKiller Base. That was out of my jurisdiction. I have no rank within the First Order. I was Master of the Knights of Ren directly below Supreme Leader Snoke. Those who answered directly to me were six Force Sensitive warriors. Any warning I would have sent to the Hosnian system would have been seen as a threat coming from an enemy, not a warning of evacuation." He bit the inside of his cheek and looked to the floor.

She shook her head. "They're gone. That...connection has always been there, inside me, but it's awake now, and it feels everything."

He tenderly reached out and set a hand on her shoulder.

"Will it always be like this?"

"You will learn how to control it, become more attuned."

They were silent, and Ben let his hand fall. He turned to go back to the cockpit.

"I do want you," Rey whispered.

He looked back at her to find that she was looking back at him. "You should get some rest."

He returned to the cockpit, mind flying with her words. She did want him. She was hurt, he knew, by the destruction of the Hosnian System, but she still wanted to be with him. How did she still want him? He tugged on his sleeve to look at her name. He already loved her. Could he really have done something? If he had tried to warn them, would she think differently of him? Would there have been time to warn them? He and Rey had known each other for only a few hours, not even a day cycle on most planets. Since they found each other, his entire focus had been on her. Even if he could have, would the thought have crossed his mind in time with his entire soul focused on her? And had he tried to do so before finding her, before deciding to abandon the First Order and Snoke and the Knights of Ren, he would have surely been severely disciplined, if not killed. A thought crossed his mind. This had only been the first real test, the first announcement to the Galaxy of the existence of StarKiller Base. He may not have been in charge of the StarKiller project, but he had knowledge of plans, schematics, and weaknesses, not just of the superweapon, but of the whole First Order. He could supply the Resistance with this information. They could bring the First Order down. And Rey would see just how much he could do.

As his mind formed plans, the presence of his master stroked his consciousness. ' _Ah, my apprentice, you're still alive._ '

Ben immediately threw up all his mental shields. He could physically flee from the First Order, but he could not run from Snoke anywhere in the Galaxy.

* * *

Rose Tico leaned against her sister at the briefing. The Resistance had successfully destroyed StarKiller base, thanks to the knowledge and actions of a defected stormtrooper, Finn. The Resistance was safe for the moment on D'Qar in the Illeenium System.

Leia Organa continued the briefing, discussing how the StarKiller Base had been the brainchild of a high ranking general by the name of Armitage Hux.

Paige froze besides Rose, and Rose took her hand in her own. She shoved the sleeve of her jumpsuit up her arm, finding the very same name on her arm, the same name that she had had on her arm for her entire life.

"Rose, I'm so sorry," Paige whispered.

"Can soulmate marks be wrong?"

"I don't know." Of course Paige wouldn't know. She didn't have one. That just meant she was free to choose whomever she wished.

Rose shook her head and left, already feeling the sting of tears in her eyes. She had been a romantic her whole life. Even though she and Paige had grown up in horrible conditions, a nightmare on a mining planet, she had hope that one day her soulmate would whisk her away from everything. Then she had dreamed of finding her soulmate in the Resistance, him being some dashing hero. She had even wondered, with such a name, if he was some aristocrat or politician somewhere on a planet like Hosnian Prime or Coruscant.

She found herself back in the belly of the ship she was stationed on, in the middle of pipes and circuitry. She looked at the grease keeping the machinery moving smoothly. She took a handful, glaring at the sludge and at the name on her arm. It was pristine and careful handwriting, written with thin lines, looking every bit the signature of an aristocratic man. She spread the grease down her arm, following the path of his name. She noticed that she could still see a few letters in the middle, and she added another layer, finally covering up the name of the man who had ripped out her heart without even having met her.

* * *

"It's beautiful," Leia mused, looking over Han's shoulder at the islands of Ach-To. Chewbacca agreed.

The island they landed on was the largest, with visible buildings on it, not to mention a plethora of friendly birds. As they exited, the Falcon, the porgs all peered back at them.

"Chewie, make sure they don't get in the engines," Han called as they started up the mountains.

They finally found Luke at the edge of a cliff, looking out over the ocean.

"Hey, Luke," Han called out. He held Leia's hand as he had the entire climb. She would have protested, but she recognized her own age, and she found it sweet.

Luke turned, removing his hood, and looked over his friends.

"It's time for you to come back, Luke," Leia said.

He shook his head. "I'm never coming back."

"You have no idea what we've gone through to get here," Han insisted.

"What happened?" Leia asked.

Luke sighed and moved to go past them back down the mountain.

Han shot out his hand and stopped him with a hand on Luke's chest. "We need you, Luke. We're not going to let you keep running."

"What do you expect of me? Go out and face the entire First Order with a lightsaber? A stealth mission to destroy Snoke? Destroying Kylo Ren?"

"Don't say that," Han growled.

"You bring hope, Luke," Leia insisted, setting a hand on Han's arm. "More than any of us. If you come back, your presence alone could change the entire course of this war."

"Why? Because I'm a legend? Because I'm the mighty Jedi Luke Skywalker?"

"There is power in that."

"Oh yes, power indeed. That power led to the creation of Kylo Ren."

"What did you do?" Han glowered.

"You don't know?" Pain filled Luke's face.

"You'd better tell us then."

"I saw the darkness growing in him, and in a moment of weakness, I drew my saber, and before I could withdraw, I saw the eyes of a frightened boy whose master had failed him."

Han's fist went flying, Luke was laying on the ground, holding his nose.

"You raised a saber to our son?" Leia whispered. Her own hands balled into fists.

"Was he your son any longer?"

Those were the words that would have sealed his death if Chewbacca had not followed the pair up the mountain terrain and reached them in time to restrain both Leia and Han. That did not prevent Chewbacca shouting at Luke himself. After he finished properly chewing Luke out, he turned, Leia under one arm, Han under the other, and marched back down the mountain to the Millennium Falcon.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have piano like this very minute but I had to share this with you because holy crap I’m loving this. Sorry, it’s angsty, but aghhhhh it’s good.

Rey blinked her eyes open, for once, waking up without a nagging hunger in her stomach or the suffocating heat of Jakku. She rolled onto her back, looking out over the room. The sleeping quarters were simple enough. There were a few bunks, and the extra ones were currently filled with supplies. Her mind wandered through the memories of the past few days. Her eyes and her mind finally rested on her soulmate. He was staring at her, leaning against the doorway.

"Were you watching me sleep?"

"Not for long." He said, standing up straight. "I need to get information to the Resistance. Do you have a way to get that information to them?"

Rey swung her legs over the side of the bunk and sat up. "What are you doing?"

"I have information that would enable them to take down Snoke and the First Order."

She stood, searching his face.

He shook his head and turned back to the cockpit. The stars streaked across the viewport. They were still in hyperspeed. "I can't run from Snoke." He looked back to Rey, and she was struck by all the anguish in his eyes. "I felt like I never had a choice in my life. I have one now, but only if Snoke is..." His eyes fell from hers.

"What are you doing, Ben?" Rey pressed, coming to stand in front of him properly.

"I'm going to give what I know to the Resistance so they can destroy Snoke, allowing us to be together."

Rey tried reaching out for his Force Signature, wondering if he was really sincere. "I don't have any way to contact them, but I can pilot us there."

"You know where their base is?"

Rey nodded. "I was taking the droid there."

"You were, but you don't have a way to simply contact them?"

"I wasn't a part of the Resistance, Ben. I wasn't born into it. I didn't enlist. BB-8 found me, and I knew I had to help him."

"What were you going to do after you got the droid to the Resistance?"

"Go back to Jakku."

"Why?"

She closed off and shook her head, pushing past him into the cockpit. She plopped down into the copilot's seat.

"Why go back to Jakku, Rey? I saw how much you hated it there."

"My family. I waited for them. They said they'd come back. I've been gone for far too long already."

Ben brushed up against her mind, asking to see. She remembered the last sight she had of their ship, and how hard she cried for them to come back, and the sweaty grip of Unkar Plutt on her arm. She was just a child. She was such a small child, and her parents had left her for dead. The pain echoed through his chest.

"You can't stop needing them," he whispered.

"Please get out of my head," she whimpered, tears pooling in her eyes.

He pulled back, but his eyes and heart stayed on her. "We'll need to teach you how to shield yourself. Snoke is looking for me. I'm sure he's looking for you, too."

"Where are we going, now?" she asked, keeping her tears from falling.

"I'd rather not go there in person, but we should head to the Resistance Base to relay the information. The nav is set towards Naboo."

"The droid told me the Illeenium System."

"I'll adjust the coordinates." He took his place in the pilot's chair and started working, leaving them in silence for a moment. "He would have disappointed you."

Rey looked up at him.

"Han Solo. He would have disappointed you as a father." He raised his eyes up to Rey. "You're being very loud with your thoughts." He turned his eyes back to the nav computer.

"Why do you hate him?"

"I don't hate him." He sucked in a deep breath through his nose. "Just like you, I can't stop needing him, either."

* * *

Tension filled the Falcon.

"We should have never sent him to Luke," Leia groaned.

"He never told us! The kid knew all he'd have to do was say something, and we'd be there."

"Did he? Did he know that we'd be there?" Leia stood and set a hand on Han's arm. "We sent him away."

"There was too much Vader in him."

"Like there's too much Vader in me?" Leia folded her arms over her chest, glaring up at her husband.

"I didn't mean it like that." He held out his hands.

"Of course, you don't."

"If I had known, you know I would have picked him up and raised Hell with Luke."

Leia sat herself down on the bench. "Would we have believed Ben?"

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't we have believed him?"

"Why did we send him to Luke? We didn't know what to do with him. Luke was always strong in the Force, and we trusted him to know what to do. If the Dark Side was really as deep as Luke said, would we have believed Ben?"

Chewie roared from the doorway, and Han bowed his head, chastened.

"You're right, Chewie. Whether we believed him or not, he didn't trust us enough."

Chewbacca whimpered and nodded.

"Should we reach out to him?" Leia wondered.

Han shook his head. "If he didn't trust us then, what would make him trust us now."

"His soulmate."

Han chuckled, shoving his sleeve up his arm to look at Leia's swirling signature over his arm. "I don't know how we spent so long apart."

"I always hated watching you leave."

"I did it so you'd miss me."

She smiled and stood, taking his arm in her hands. "What am I going to do with you?"

"I have a couple of suggestions."

Leia swatted his arm, but she pushed into his arms. "Hold me."

* * *

Finn looked around the bustling Resistance base. He felt absurdly out of place. Everyone had a place and a job and a reason for being here. He had brought BB-8 and the map to them. He had given them all the information he could about the First Order. He had helped destroy StarKiller Base. He hadn't been able to find Rey, but he hoped that she was alright where ever she was with... 

He groaned. She had been his first real friend, and she had immediately ran off with her murderous soulmate. 

He looked down at his arm. He had a soulmate mark, he knew he did, because he had a large scar over his arm where it would normally be. The First Order wasn't keen on their soldiers being people with soulmates. The few people who did have marks often had them mutilated or removed the moment they were first seen. Finn had been kidnapped so incredibly young, but he was grateful he didn't remember getting his mark scarred.

"Hey, Finn!" Poe Dameron shouted, waving to him as he dashed alongside his droid.

"Poe!" Finn greeted.

He laughed and brought Finn into a hug. "You look lost."

Finn clapped Poe's back and shrugged. "I'm not used to the lack of regimen."

Poe stepped back but kept a hand on his shoulder. "Not used to being a regular civilian in the war, huh, buddy?"

Before Finn could respond, Poe's comm link beeped.

"Poe here."

"There's a craft entering airspace. They don't have any codes, but they're saying they've got First Order information."

"Did they give any names?" Poe asked, already heading out to his ship.

"They did say that Rey of Jakku's with them."

"Rey!" Finn shouted, running to catch up. "Rey's there?"

Poe looked back at Finn. "Is Rey one of us?"

"Yeah she is!"

The comm crackled, and Lieutenant Connix spoke again. "Poe, we need you in the air to check them out and guide them in. There's no First Order tracking on them, and they're not throwing up any flags. Admiral Holdo is giving the okay."

"Alright, I'll bring them in."

* * *

Rey found herself reaching for Ben as they tried communicating with the Resistance. Her hand found his, and he obliged, setting his hand on the armrest and squeezing her palm. They had made it to the Illeenium System, and after sending out a quiet signal, searching for which planet their base was on, it was a waiting game.

Soon enough, though, a ship approached them, and a man greeted them.

"So, Rey, I hear from BB-8 that you saved my buddies."

It was promptly followed by BB-8's beeping.

Rey lit up. "BB-8! You got to the Resistance!"

"Follow me close. I'm bringing you in."

* * *

D'Qar was filled with trees and rolling hills and bunkers and life. It wasn't as green as Takodana, but Rey was still excited to see more life around her.

They landed down on an empty landing pad and looked at each other.

"Before we jump into this," Ben said, "we're going to be giving this information straight to my mother."

Rey frowned. "Leia Organa is your mother, isn't she?"

Ben nodded. "I haven't seen her since before I began my Jedi training."

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Whether or not, it's the right thing to do."

Rey took his hand again, giving it a squeeze. "Together." She stood and tugged him up, and they headed to the ramp.

There was already onlookers.

The pilot and his droid were waiting for them on the tarmac, and Poe had his helmet under his arm.

Rey and Ben descended hand in hand, and at first, Poe simply surveyed them. He had never seen the girl before, the Rey, but BB-8 was excited to see her. The man, though, caught his attention, and he frowned. Where had he seen him before? A deep anxiety settled in the pit of his stomach, and BB-8 paused in his excitement, noticing his master's sudden change in demeanor.

They came to him, and Rey had already dropped to her knees to greet the droid, checking his antenna.

The men, though, stared each other down until Ben broke the silence. "Who talks first?"

Ben's voice was immediately recognizable, even without the vocoder.

"Kriff," Poe swore, dropping his helmet and pulling his blaster from his side. "What are you doing here, Kylo Ren?"

"I'm betraying the First Order," Ben admitted, slowly raising his hands above his head in a sign of surrender.

Rey jumped to her feet, ready to attack. "We have information that we need to get to Leia Organa," she insisted. "We're unarmed."

Finn was running up the tarmac, skidding to a stop just behind Poe.

"Finn!" Rey greeted. "Tell him that we're not here to harm anybody!" She gestured to Poe.

"You can't just bring Kylo Ren into a Resistance Base, Rey!" Finn shouted.

"He defected."

"Oh, yeah, Kylo Ren defected the First Order for his soulmate," Finn mocked.

"She's his soulmate?" Poe shouted back at Finn. "You didn't think to mention that before?"

"We're here to see Leia Organa," Ben announced over their bickering.

"Well, she's not here, right now!" Poe returned.

Rey went to Ben, tugged on his shirt, and tried to pull an arm down, though she was slightly too short to really reach his hand. He obliged her, though, dropping his arm so she could pull him back. "We're going to go, then."

"We're not letting you leave," Poe growled.

BB-8 flipped up his lighter, and Rey gave the droid a scowl as if he were misbehaving.

"Stand down, soldier," a woman ordered.

They looked back towards the main base where a purple haired woman and several Resistance fighters were approaching.

"They said they're here to give us information," she said, scowling at the pilot. "You do not shoot the messengers."

"With all due respect, this man has performed extremely invasive Force torture techniques on me in order to obtain sensitive information."

Ben felt Rey's grip tighten on his arm. "You kept the Resistance's secrets very well hidden, Dameron," he offered, keeping his tone steady and his face passive. "No one could get anything from you, except for me." He looked back up to the woman. "But I have defected. I am here to give you as much information from the First Order as I can. Unfortunately, if General Organa is unavailable, we will have to take our leave."

The woman sighed and shook her head. "I'm afraid I can't allow that." She waved for her soldiers to take them into custody.

The moment they stepped forward, Ben raised his hand, freezing them all.

"Tell Leia Organa her son was looking for her," Ben said evenly, turning his back on them and strolling back to the ship.

Rey stared for a moment at the frightened Resistance fighters, and she paused on Finn's furious face. They were all trembling, trying to fight the Force powers, but every single one was frozen in place, including the droid. She tore her gaze from them to follow Ben into the ship, closing the ramp behind her.

Ben was already in the cockpit, starting the engines, when Rey joined him, standing at his side.

"You're frightened," he said, pausing.

"You stopped them like they were nothing," she returned. "What did you do to that pilot?"

"I discovered where he had hidden the map to Luke Skywalker. I was the last of many interrogations. I found it in his mind." He looked up at her, sadness in his eyes. "You think I'm a monster."

"I don't know what to think."

He looked back to the control panel. "You'd be right. I am a monster. If you want to leave, you can. I can leave you here."

Rey took his arm and forced him to face her properly. There was such a seething terrified anger in her eyes. "Don't leave me. Don't you dare leave me."


	6. Chapter 6

"Don't you dare leave me," Rey repeated.

How could he be so callous? She had already shared that her parents had abandoned her, and he knew all too well the pain of his own parents leaving him, yes, with his uncle, but leaving him all the same. And he had suggested he leave her. They were soulmates. They weren't meant to be apart. But how could she still want him? The entire Galaxy was filled with reminders that he was a monster. He was cruel and callous and ruthless, and she deserved so much more than him.

He was all she had.

"I can't leave you. I shouldn't have said that."

Rey searched his eyes and slowly moved forward to press a gentle kiss to his forehead. Her touch was so hesitant and soft. Up to this point, she had only reached for his hand. This movement was tender and vulnerable and affectionate. She was showing her affection for him. She cared about him. Even after learning what he had done, she still showed that she wanted to be with him. "We should go now, though," she breathed against his skin. "They were serious about not letting us leave." She took her place in the copilot seat, focusing on the controls.

Ben turned forward, but his eyes lingered on her. She cared for him, even knowing all that he had done.

* * *

"Do we even need Luke?" Han asked as they made their way to the little community of huts. "Would he really change this war?"

"It's not him we need, now," Leia assured her husband. "It's Ben. If Luke makes amends like he did with Vader, then we might truly get Ben back."

"And you think forcing Luke to apologize will bring Ben back?" Han finally caught Leia's shoulder, making her stop. "If we make Luke face Ben, someone's ending up dead. He was looking for that map to Luke. Why do you think he was looking for that? To go back to being his student? He probably wants to kill him. You know how stubborn he is, Princess."

"Like he doesn't get that from you."

"He gets that from both of us."

Leia sighed and shook her head. "Then let's at least go tell Luke goodbye. Who knows if we'll get to see him again."

Han sighed and followed her up to the hut the caretakers pointed to.

"Luke!" Leia shouted through the door. It was a makeshift thing, furnished from the panel of a ship. "We're leaving!"

He pulled the door open. His face was as gaunt as ever. "Come inside, Leia. You too, Han." He was already back inside, kneeling in front of the stone wall, wiggling a brick loose.

Chewbacca entered behind the pair. One of the native birds had become his buddy, and the porg was resting on Chewie's shoulder.

"You should have this back," Luke said, standing and unwrapping a saber from a worn cloth.

Leia took it, studying the hilt. Her weapon was just as she had last seen it. "If you're not coming back, I don't know what this would do."

Han put his thumbs through his belt loops. "Ben's soulmate can use the Force. She'll probably need one."

"Ben's soulmate?" Luke repeated. "He found his Rey?"

Han laughed. "She found him. She's a scrappy desert kid. Brilliant pilot. She'll keep his hands full."

Luke nodded. "That will be good for him...or her downfall."

"What the hell, Luke?"

"She may not pull him back to the light. He might drag her down into the dark."

"Is that what you think?" Leia sighed. "Or is this some vision from the Force?" She set the saber on his table. "I know what I saw, and I will not take that path to the destruction of my son. He can be brought back, but it will not be through my training as a Jedi, nor by my using a lightsaber."

"It is time for the Jedi to end, Leia. I am the last Jedi, and the order will die with me."

Leia frowned. "You were my hope, once, Luke. There is too much at stake to wait for you to come save us. We've been waiting for a miracle. I'm starting to think that it's not you. Goodbye Luke."

She left with all the royalty of her upbringing, every inch the princess she always was.

Han took the saber from the table and clipped it alongside his blaster. "May the Force be with you, kid."

* * *

Ben and Rey settled into an orbit around a nearby moon to see if Leia would return to the Resistance Base soon.

"Have you slept?" Rey asked, suddenly realizing that she had rested, but she hadn't seen Ben take any sort of break.

He sighed and shook his head. "I can't let my guard down, Rey. Supreme Leader Snoke."

She reached out to take his hand. "I've seen what you can do. Can you destroy him yourself?" A grin appeared on her face. "Can I help you?"

He looked to her admiringly. "You need a teacher."

"Then teach me, Ben." She grew eager. "Teach me how to shield us, so that you can rest. You need it."

Rey could have sworn he almost smiled. He squeezed her palm in his own and gave a gentle nod. "Let's go back into the bunk."

He let her lead them in, and he released her hand so he could go to the floor, crossing his legs. Rey mirrored him, studying his intent face. 

He stared back for a moment, and then, he rushed into her mind. 

It knocked the breath from her, and she scrambled away from his sudden intense...exploration? He was exploring her. Her memories and her thoughts and her emotions and her impressions. He was everywhere. 

It was nothing like what Snoke had done. Snoke had ripped into her, no conscience and no care for her. He had torn apart her mind like he was ransacking a house, like he was looting her mind for every sliver of valuable information. 

Ben, though immensely intense, swept in and explored, picking up a memory and setting it down as carefully as he had picked it up, admired an emotion, took a moment to appreciate an impulse. He was everywhere, but it felt like welcoming him home, like he belonged there, like he was going to care for her soul.

He suddenly retreated. She longed for him to come back, for him to share everything with her. His intensity had left her empty, like her AT-AT now stood without her in it, to care for it. 

"You were supposed to protect yourself," Ben whispered. "You were supposed to push me out and keep me from coming back."

Rey's eyes searched his, and she took a trembling breath. A tear escaped the corner of her eye. How could she say that his presence felt like home?

He pushed himself to his knees, worrying at the tear tumbling down her face. He reached out to wipe the tear away. "I went too far. I should have warned you. I'm sorry." 

She leaned her cheek into his hand. "No, come back, please," she breathed. She didn't know how to express this with words. She needed to show him. 

The confusion on his face leaked into his Force Signature which now hovered at the edge of her mind, afraid to actually enter. She caught him and dragged him back, and she shoved all of her emotions at him, how he belonged there, how he felt like home, how he was so familiar and good and right amidst her thoughts and her soul.

"You feel," he whispered, "all that for me?"

He tugged at her signature, inviting her into his own mind. 

He gasped when she followed him in. She brought light, so much light everywhere, more than he knew there could be. He had felt so broken and empty and alone. She had felt empty and alone. And the moment he had come into her mind, she wasn't any longer. But her entering his mind spread light on everything. The darkness he thought had taken up a permanent residence in the corners of his mind now instead were filled with Rey and her light. He had believed that they were cold empty corners or else filled with monsters and anger, but no, not any more. They belonged to Rey, now. 

"Soulmates," Rey said aloud, trying to convey how right and beautiful this felt. 

His eyes focused on her again, and he found her staring back at him, cheek still pressed up against his hand. Her eyes sparkled, between the artificial light and her emotion filled tears. She caught him off guard, surging forward, pressing her lips to his. 

His heart thundered in his chest, breathing her in, hand moving from her cheek to the nape of her neck. She was pressing everything against him, her face against his, her hand against his arm, her chest, her emotions, her Force signature. She was trying to mirror the intimacy of sharing their souls, and it had overflowed into her very being. She finally broke away, but only the tiniest bit to breathe. 

He let her mouth move away because his own was widening into a grin, but he followed her as she moved back, pressing his forehead to hers. 

He pressed his admiration through the Force. She was so good. She was so light. She had so much compassion. She had finally found something that truly and rightfully belonged to her, and he knew she wasn't going to let him go, let him leave her, let him abandon their soulmate status. He belonged to her. 

She fed back all her emotions to him, echoing how she felt like she belonged, how everything felt awake, how she no longer felt as if she were waiting for someone who would never come. She wasn't alone. She couldn't be alone now that she had him. She couldn't go back to who she was now. She couldn't go back to waiting for her family on Jakku. She had her family, right here, with his forehead pressed against hers. 

Ben didn't know anyone could want him so badly. Just him. Only him. Only Ben Solo. She didn't want the Force user. She didn't want the heir of Vader or the heir of Skywalker or the heir of Organa. She didn't want the Master of the Knights of Ren. She didn't want Luke's padawan. She only wanted him, the man whose name was on her arm, the man who wanted to protect her, even though she was more than capable of protecting herself, the man who would care for her even though she had looked out for herself her entire life, the man who had looked for her the moment he could read her name on his arm. 

He pushed a little farther, pressing his lips agains hers again, catching her bottom lip between his own. She wanted him, and he wanted to fulfill each and every one of her desires. He wanted to be who she wanted. He wanted to deserve to be wanted by her. 

_'You left the First Order for this, Kylo Ren?'_ The icy presence of his master infiltrated his mind in Ben's moment of distraction. 

His tendrils brought the darkness back into Ben's heart, bringing that fear and anguish he had lived his entire life with. And to make it worse, Snoke flooded through him and caught Rey. 

She gasped, and remembering what Ben had been trying to teach her, she charged back through Ben's Force Signature, trying to chase Snoke and all his darkness from Ben's mind. 

Ben threw up his mental shields, reinforcing them, and drawing them around Rey as well. He pulled her body to him. 

Rey put her arms around his chest. "You lived with so much darkness in your mind?"

"I didn't know there could be so much light."

**Author's Note:**

> Looking for more? Check out my [profile](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BurntKloverfield/profile) or my [Reylo Ficlets.](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/ReyloFiclets)


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